Birds Of A Feather
by Combined Gamers
Summary: Humans have wings, from all kinds of birds. Every one of those bird types has something about them that everyone in the group must act as, whether it's smart or vain. For everyone's best interest, play by society's rules. What happens if you don't? Lapis Lazuli, 16, is plucked from her home and thrown into a desolate prison with no escape. Welcome to the Island of the Exiled.
1. Chapter 1

_**AN: So for this world, I'll be using the colours of male bird wings, since many female birds are very dull. Also, I know peacocks can fly, but in this world that's never happened before. Comment and tell me what you think!**_

Lapis yawned and stretched, feeling her feathers fluff out as she flapped her wings gently. She curled up underneath her pale blue blanket, her bedroom was freezing. Snow was falling softly outside, it had been for a few days now, covering everything in a blanket of glittering white.

The blue haired teen was 16 years old, she lived in an old house with her mother, father, and... No siblings. On the day her egg had hatched, the egg beside her hadn't. She wondered if her sibling had lived, would they be like her? Lapis wiggled her wings from under the blanket and she ran her fingers over her ear, feeling the tiny feathers that grew on the tip of it and on the sides of her face. There were a few feathers on her elbows too.

Her wings weren't too long, only reaching a little past her lower back, they were a beautiful blue, pale at the tip of her wing only to darken to almost black where her wings bent. They were soft, beautiful, worthy of her title as a peacock. That's right, Lapis Lazuli had the wings of a peacock, as such she was expected to be vain, shallow, gaudy and conceited. Bright and fancy.

When she changed out of her pyjamas, which consisted of denim shorts and a tank top, she had dressed herself in black jeans, a blue t-shirt, and a grey hoodie that hid her wings. She didn't wear makeup, barely brushed her hair and just left it as a fluffy mess, because while she was expected to be vain and actually care abut her appearance, she didn't.

Her parents barely cared, they still grieved for the little egg that never hatched. Lapis had learned from a young age that "At least you still have this child" was something that went in one ear and out the other.

"Mom, dad, I'm going out on a walk, I'll be back for lunch, okay?" She said as she slipped her coat on and tucked a book into her sweater, held tightly to her body by her wing. 'How To Fly'.

Her father's voice came from the living room, he was trying to change a light-bulb that had gone out last night. "Aren't you going to have breakfast? Peanut butter toast is on the counter for you, didn't you smell or see it?" He asked, and the blue haired girl's stomach growled as she sniffed the air. She caught the scent of one of her favourite things to eat for breakfast and smiled. She was going to buy something, but this was more than okay!

"Thanks dad!" She chirped. Her parents weren't attentive but they cared in some little ways. Lapis quickly ate her breakfast and headed out into the snowy world.

She looked up at the pale grey sky, people flying around everywhere. Feathers drifted around, mingling with the falling snowflakes, the soft beating of wings both big and small, fluffy and neat, filled the air, giving the blue haired girl goosebumps. The wind-chimes on her porch jingled softly in the wind, which was perfect today, she would be able to make another attempt, since she was too afraid to try a windless takeoff.

Lapis was determined to become the first peacock to ever known to take flight. She pulled her hood up to hide herself and started to run down the streets, her breath coming in little puffs as she ran to the forest near her house.

The teen made her way into the snowy clearing, most of the fluffy white powder was brushed away, as Lapis came her extremely often. She took off her coat and hoodie, and rubbed her arms as the cold air greedily drained them of heat. The tanned girl set her book down on a tree-stump and opened her wings. "Strong down-strokes, wing tips almost meeting at the top, come on Lapis... You can do this..." The young girl said to herself.

Her wings started to beat strongly, and she could feel the air starting to gather under them. This was it! She would finally-

"There she is!" A voice startled the blue haired girl, and she almost fell back, her wings now still, no air under them. "Lapis Lazuli."

A girl stood in the entrance to the clearing, Heather McClarin, another peacock. Soon other girls followed behind her, all grinning at Lapis. Heather wore fancy clothes, her makeup was perfect and her hair, blue like Lapis and all other peacocks, was long and in perfect little curls. "We've had enough of what you're doing Lapis, it's not right." She huffed, and pointed to Lapis' sweater. "I mean look at your clothes, did you make them out of rat fur? And your hair, don't even get me started, is someone trying to nest in it? Oh god you aren't even wearing ANY makeup!" She said in mock horror, "You aren't acting like a peacock at all! You're even trying to fly." She said with a nasty grin.

Lapis hugged her wings close to her body. Another person came in, a large woman with the wings of an eagle. "A flying peacock hm? We can fix that." She said calmly. Lapis started to shiver, and not from the cold.

All at once the other girls pounced on her and pinned her down. "We'll fix you Lapis, don't worry." One of them said. Lapis screamed in pain as she felt hands on her wings, something that wasn't allowed without consent, before the searing pain of her feathers... Her feathers...

Some of them were drifting on the ground in front of her, followed by a few drops of blood. These girls, the ones that she went to school with, that had tried to get her to be like them, were plucking and ripping out feathers from her wings.

Not all of them had been ripped out, but a good enough amount to have the girl crying and begging for them to stop. The large woman forcefully grabbed her. "Looks like you don't want to be one of the normal people hm? Don't worry little one, we can fix that too." She threw Lapis in large cage and hauled her through the forest as the young girl cried in agony, her wings plucked and bleeding.

The cage was placed on a large boat at the frozen docks, the girls weren't allowed to follow out of the forest, for no one was allowed to know what happened to people who couldn't fit in.

The blue haired girl fought to keep herself awake, terror pulsing through her veins as she was taken from her home. She looked out of her cage, she could barely move around in it, but she watched the waters they traveled through, rough with harsh winds, not a bit of land to be seen in the water as the snow cast a flurry filled wall, Lapis could no longer see where they had come from, her home far behind as they kept pushing through the water.

It seemed her parents were going to lose both children.

The boat shuddered and Lapis let out a sharp scream as one of her wings bumped the wall of her cage. "Alright, we're here." The woman from before spoke with a gruff commanding voice, and once again the young girl's cage was lifted quickly before being moved.

All the walls of her cage were solid except for the door, she watched through the bars and her teary eyes widened. The boat had come to a desolate island, there were black and grey clouds swirling over it, jagged rocks sticking out all over the coast, run down buildings and not a person in sight. Her cage was opened and Lapis was dumped onto the rocky ground, she let out a whimper as tears spilled over her face, she knew now exactly where she was.

This was the place where people went if they could not behave the way they were supposed to. This place was supposed to be a legend, but it turned out to be true. It was bleak, a world of nothing where outcasts were sent to try and live off the scraps of the mainlands bounty, and now the young girl was stuck here.

"Welcome to the Island of the Exiled."


	2. Chapter 2

_**AN: In this world, Peridot and Squaridot are brother and sister, and share the same species. Squaridot is trans-male in this world.**_

 _ **There are 7 islands, Lapis lived in the one that was a small town style place, these two live in a much more upper-class place. Just to avoid confusion, every time it is shown to be cold/winter, it is the past. Every time it's hot/warm/summer, it's present day. Time changing means it's the past, time skipping means it's still in that time period.**_

"Come on Peridot, please?" Her brother asked her, and she groaned. "Just one more time I promise." Peridot rolled her eyes but smiled. Even if her big brother could pick on her for her size, and that he was an hour older than she was, she loved him. The siblings made their way into the large garden in the back of their mansion, taking in the scent of all the flowers that drifted in through the windows.

They lived in a huge mansion, often referred to as a miniature palace, with many things on display. Bones from the wings of people whose bird types had gone extinct, damning them to the same fate. The siblings ran by a display with the wing bones taken from someone who once had the wings of a Passenger Pigeon.

While rounding a corner to catch up with her brother, Peridot tripped and fell over onto the rug, her large wings had caused her to lose her balance. The blonde woman had been born from a small egg, and she herself was much smaller than her brother, though for some odd reason she had been born with rather large wings, too big for normal size, pushing her up into the category of 'Big Wing'.

They were a lime green at the ends, darkening in the middle, with pine green feathers at the top where they bent. Before the bend though, towards the base of her wings, the feathers were a pale greyish blue, with the feathers at the very base being an odd pink. The feathers on the sides of her face were a mix of dark green and greyish blue, lime green ones on her elbows.

Squaridot's were the same, only smaller than hers. He hated their species, and with good reason. Their beautiful wings were from the Princess Parrot, as such they were expected to be prim and proper, always well behaved like royalty. There were some good things to living here though. Their mother, Emerald, had provided them with a wonderful childhood. Every day of their lives the siblings were served only the best quality meals on a silver platter, with servants to give them anything they wanted.

More than one family lived in this house though. It wasn't just the three of them, (Peridot had no idea where her father was, Emerald said he had died) but there were others. Golden Eagles, Swans both black and white, and... Before Peridot and her brother had been born, apparently White's advisers had lived here before their disappearances. A Hyacinth Macaw, and a Golden Macaw with white and gold feathers.

The siblings ran into the garden, being very careful to avoid the servants who were decorating the house for a large party tonight. One of their servants, Holly Blue, was supposed to be watching over them, though the siblings were sure they were old enough to no longer need a glorified babysitter. They were both 22 years old.

Hiding behind a bush and giggling, Peridot smoothed down her brother's feathers, something only done if you had a strong bond with someone, like a family member or... She blushed, partner. Squaridot was the only one who knew about the short girl's preference for women, she didn't want to tell their mother, she had already had a bit of a hard time with Squaridot telling her he was a boy, not a girl.

"Are you sure you want me to sing?" She asked him. The blonde man nodded.

"You're the only one in this family who can Peridot. At least, the only one who can hit the high-notes without sounding like a Screech Owl." He joked, she rolled her eyes again.

"Fine, fine, I'll do it." She said, lightly shoving him before taking a deep breath. She only sang this because she wanted to help her brother, it wasn't easy for him, what with the title of Princess Parrot being... Undesirable to him. "No... One's... Slick as Gaston, no one's quick as Gaston!" She sang somewhat loudly, her brother's feathers puffed up with pride as she poked near his throat. "No one's neck is incredibly thick as Gaston's!"

"For there's no one in town half as manly! Perfect, a pure paragon!" He sang back to her, trying to make his voice sound deeper.

"You can ask any Tom, Dick or Stanley, and they'll tell ya who's team they prefer to be on!" The siblings sang in unison, usually she'd sing the last bit on her own, but he must have been in a good mood.

The two started giggling all over again, hidden behind the bush as servants went on doing their things for Emerald. The sun was high in the sky, shining brightly. For them, life was perfect.

TIME CHANGE- 10:00am

POV SHIFT- Padparadscha Hibernis

"Sis! Look outside, it's snowing!" Padparadscha, also known as Paddy, squealed with delight, her hands on her twin sister's shoulder and shaking her, trying to pull her away from her book.

Sapphire nodded without looks up. "Yes Padparadscha, I know it's snowing, it's been snowing for 2 hours." She replied calmly. Padparadscha's wings flapped wildly, unable to contain the short teen's excitement. Her golden eyes shone brightly, she loved snow so much! It was fun to play in, it meant Christmas was coming soon, which meant their high school was about to start playing music themed to fir the holidays, and their school always gave out cookies and hot chocolate throughout the winter!

Sapphire had the wings of a Snowy Owl, why wasn't she more excited about this? The ginger sighed, she knew why. She and Sapphire were expected to be brilliant and tranquil scholars, she wasn't supposed to be very excited about snow, or anything else. But to her that was ridiculous, the world was so beautiful! So full of life! From the rats and bats in the big city, to the fish in the ocean, to all the plants and animals growing on the island covered in forests and farmland. The world was wonderful, why wasn't she allowed to celebrate that?

"Sapphire please, come with me? We can watch the snow fall on the beach. You..." She looked down, "You never want to do anything anymore... Why do you have to study all the time? It's not healthy and... I miss you." Padparadscha sat on the floor, holding Sapphire's scarf in her hands. She remembered her sister making this as if it had been just a moment ago. The dark skinned girl was the younger of the two of them by only 10 minutes, and there was something a little odd about her.

While Sapphire was a Snowy Owl, her white wings gleaming with dark spots, Padparadscha's wings were different. The undersides of them were pure white sure, but the back of them? A lovely golden brown, with tiny dark spots at the top. She was a Barn Owl. It wasn't unheard of for siblings to have different types, but it was still a bit strange.

There was a hand on her ear, gently preening the tiny feathers that grew along it. She looked up and smiled at her sister, who had gotten out of her chair. "Let's go look at the snow sis." Sapphire said with a gentle smile, her dark blue eyes soft, though quickly filled with surprise when the younger twin jumped up to hug her. "Easy Paddy!" She cried, but hugged her back.

The two went out into the snow, it was snowing a bit harder now, a storm was coming soon. Their city was wonderful too, rocks that were a dark reddish brown made their land both sharp and smooth, beaches were everywhere, people often played music in the streets or at least the buildings around had speakers on the outside, playing soft instruments from inside. This was the island that many islands got minerals from, as many metals, crystals, and types of rocks grew here, and it didn't mater how much they took. As long as everything was being used the sea would bless them with more.

Paddy shuddered to think what the world would be like if people wasted what was given to them, taking the world's blessings for granted. She would never want to live in a world like that.

She would always be amazed by the unique feature of this island. Instead of trying to keep traversing the rocky roads, or instead of destroying the land, the people had built paths and roads out of sturdy solar panels, providing energy to not just this island, but many more, the panels were so strong they could pick up the sunlight even through clouds, and could be walked on all day with no problem.

The sisters soon reached the beach, watching the snow get blown around and mix with the calm waves. Eddies swirled around them, ruffling their feathers and making them both smile. The ginger teen wanted so badly to dive into the snow and play around, but there could be people watching them.

Her attention snapped over to the shore, she hadn't realized that Sapphire had even moved until now, but she had, and was now standing where the land met the sea, staring silently out with her wings wrapped tightly around herself, her scarf and pale bluish white hair drifting in the wind, though her head was down, her arms crossed over her chest.

She was upset.

"Sapph?" She asked quietly as she approached, "Are you okay?" Golden eyes watched as small droplets of water fell into the sea, Sapphire was starting to shake, Padparadscha put a wing around her.

"No. I'm not. What am I supposed to do Paddy... I'm supposed to be smart, 'the future of our kind' but... What if I'm not? What am I? What are we supposed to be? Paddy I don't want to be this forever, I-I want to live, we're going to be adults soon, living on our own, a-and..." Sapphire looked at her, there were tears streaming down her face. "And I don't want us to be separated! I don't WANT to leave home, I DON'T WANT to be what everyone else wants, I want to be ME! I don't even know who I am yet! I want to see the other islands, find out what we can do!"

"I know what you can do." There was a voice behind them, startling the two sisters, they turned around to see three people standing a little ways away from them, they all bore a white diamond on their clothes, the symbol of their leader. "You two can come with us." They were all much bigger than the two girls, their large grey wings raised to show their power.

Grey Hawks, Blanche's guards, they had found out about Padparadscha's inability to stay calm, and had just witnessed Sapphire breaking down. Feeling a fiery rush of courage the ginger teen growled and stepped forward. "Leave her alone!" She snapped.

In a flash one of them advanced on her, and while the short girl had closed her eyes and held her hands out on instinct she heard footsteps, a scream from a voice that was all too familiar, and a thud. Sapphire was laying on the ground, the snow near her sister's face was turning red and she held her hand over her eye.

The twins were grabbed quickly, and thrown into two small cages. Padparadscha could only see out the door, it was the only part that actually had bars, the other walls were solid steel. She watched the ground grow smaller as the Grey Hawks flew through the sky and down the coast, eventually landing on a dock. "This is what you get for fighting back." One of them hissed.

They were loaded up onto a boat, the ginger girl kept calling to her sister, who was still crying loudly until a guard kicked the cage. "Shut up! You were barely cut at all!" They roared, and Sapphire's cries quieted, Paddy could feel tears spilling over her cheeks. She was never one for expecting what would come next, but at the moment she had a very good clue.

At least they wouldn't have to live separated...

TIME CHANGE- 3:45pm

POV SHIFT- Rua Rosso

"Teil!" Her aunt called, and the young girl groaned as she looked up from her book.

"Coming!" Her sister called, and they stood up. Teil turned her head to look at Rua. "I don't know why she bothers calling one of us, if one goes the other HAS to."

"I think she forgets that sometimes." Said Rua, and the two snickered. They walked out of the room, looking for their aunt. The twins had been living with her for ten years now, ever since their mother had passed away, their father nowhere to be seen.

Rua and Teil had hatched from a very large egg, and while most big eggs simply made a bigger person, there's was... Different. On that fateful day 20 years ago, Rua had hatched, along with her sister, conjoined. Two heads, and a name that could be fused together. If someone wanted to call them both at the same time, the twins were known as Rutile.

Unfortunately for the twins flight was a bit hard, as having two heads made them less aerodynamic then they needed to be. Still, even if they couldn't fly fast, Rua thought their wings were amazing. Soft, sleek and jet black, with a single vibrant crimson patch at the top of them. A Crimson Sunbird, a type known to fly well. Rua and Teil often had to hide their poor flight skills, often saying that one of the wings ached.

"What's wrong auntie?" Rua asked, and her aunt pointed to the coffee table. Ah, so she was doing her annual furniture move, which was probably why she'd been hearing the sound of things moving around in the living room.

"I was hoping you girls could help me, the table's a bit heavy, and you're so strong." She told the twins, her warm brown eyes filled with pride. Rua and Teil were quite strong, very athletic too. They could swim, run, play air soccer and despite not being very good at it, they loved flying.

So they moved the table quickly and headed (pardon the slight pun) outside. The warm summer sunshine making Rua shiver from having been in the air conditioned apartment building for so long. "Hey." A voice called, Rua looked over to the source.

"Rhodonite! What are you doing out here? I thought you hated being outside." She was surprised to see the black haired woman around, she never wanted to go outside unless it was early morning or evening. The big city wasn't a good place for the nervous girl.

She was an amazing flier though, one of the best ones Rua knew. Fast, strong, and not too noisy considering she had the wings of a Mourning Dove. Pale beige, soft too, with little dark drown speckles. The twins had known her since childhood, remembering that there had once been a time when they were taller.

"Well what are you guys doing? I was trying to find you, there are people patrolling everywhere! They're looking for Off Colours!" Her wide brown eyes were filled with terror, and a dark feeling sunk in Rua's stomach. Off Colours was the term used for people who were flawed, Rua and Teil couldn't fly well enough, and Rhodonite was far too anxious. "Rutile c'mon we've gotta hide!"

And so the two (three?) took off down the street, dodging people left and right. Most people knew the twins, after all it was a little hard not to know the local conjoined pair, so most people they passed asked what the problem was.

Footsteps were behind them. Someone knew the twins too well.

"Teil come on, keep our wing close, we need to go faster." Rua said to her twin. "Someone's after us."

They followed Rhodonite down an alleyway, a large chain-link fence between them and some freedom, if they managed to get over the fence there was a good hiding place between two boulders in the local park. "Stop right there!" Someone yelled at them. Rua grabbed onto the fence and tried to climb.

Rhodonite screamed, Rua looked at her and immediately jumped on the guard that was trying to grab her. "Get away from her!" Teil roared, and Rua grabbed the guard's wing. She had pulled a few feathers out before being shoved to the ground. This guard was an Eagle, one of the strongest types out there.

The black haired girl felt herself being lifted into the air, she had hit her head on the ground when she'd been shoved. Her vision was darkening now at a rapid rate... The last thing she saw before falling unconscious was Rhodonite in the guard's other arm, and the ground becoming small as they were all carried off...

TIME SKIP- 8:30 pm

POV SHIFT- Peridot Odelet

The party had started a while ago, with a stern warning from her mother to behave herself. She didn't like wearing the fancy dresses she had been forced to wear as child, Squaridot had been forced to wear them too. Now he wore suits, and she wore blouses and skirts. They had managed to make a compromise, they would wear fancy clothes, and Emerald would let them play in the garden like they had earlier that day.

The small blonde would definitely say that she along with her brother were sheltered and spoiled. They had rarely ever left the mansion, had anything they ever wanted or needed handed to them on a silver platter, and still played around like children. Of course, they could be serious if they needed to be, like talking with their mother.

She was holding a cup of punch in her tiny hands, it didn't taste very good, too sweet. Her brother was talking with others their age, she wasn't interested in what they were doing, they mostly talked about flying anyway. Peridot would probably be a good flier if she had more confidence, although it would be higher if she didn't have to hear-

"Hey Big Wing!" A boy called at her, he was a little older than her. He and other boys were at her constantly, teasing her for her odd wing size.

Peridot took a deep breath, she was going to keep her cool, she was not going to lash out. She looked around for someone to watch, anyone but the guys. Holly Blue, the woman who always watched over her and her brother was standing there. Her pale blue gaze was sharp as she glanced in the young woman's direction, over her head and towards the young men behind her.

Even if Peridot and Squaridot bothered the blue haired woman to no end, she cared about them.

"Come on Dot, you don't have to be rude, talk to us." One of the guys said to her. "What, you're mad? It was a joke Dot, don't take it so hard. Why are you so sensitive?"

She refused to turn around, she wouldn't give any of them the benefit of a response, especially since if she said anything now it would come out as a scream. Princess Parrots didn't scream, they were proper, never showed too much aggression.

Peridot swore she felt her entire body freeze up, her heart rate had been climbing from her pent-up anger, but now it felt like it had stopped. One of the boys had reached out to her, maybe to grab her hand, but he hadn't.

He'd grabbed her wing, without consent. One of the worst things you could do to someone. Wings were sacred, only to be touched by someone you trusted. Peridot whirled around without thinking, spread her wings and puffed up her feathers, her wing had only been touched for a moment but it was enough to push her over the edge.

"Would you just FUCK OFF?!"

At once, everyone around her stopped talking. Squaridot stared at her in horror, her mother's eyes filled with rage and disgust, Holly's eyes were wide with shock.

"Arrest her! We can't have someone like her around us!" Someone shouted. Peridot was in shock though, she barely felt anything at all. Her hands were pulled behind her, she was being lead out the door into the night. Squaridot was sobbing and begging them not to take her, that he would make sure she never misbehaved again. Emerald was being yelled at by Holly, who had been grabbed and was being dragged away with Peridot.

Holly had been defending her, Emerald... Her mother... Hadn't even tried to keep her...

Next thing she knew they had been thrown onto a boat, into cages. The tiny woman went limp, her wings curled tight around her. She could feel tears slipping down her cheeks. Peridot hadn't meant to lash out, she'd been so afraid, so angry, she had needed to shout, she couldn't help it...

It was pitch black outside by the time they reached a shore. Peridot had been let out of her cage, and stumbled off into another direction. They had released Holly, and the tall woman had run off. "H-h-hello?" She called, no one answered. She could hear footsteps but something inside her told her to keep moving.

The dirt was dry and dead, grey with sharp rocks, shards of glass and bits of rotten food scattered everywhere. The buildings looked like they'd been ripped apart, with cracked windows, doors that wouldn't shut properly, holes in roofs... She'd never been in a place so dirty or... Rough. Her feet already hurt.

The moon was covered by clouds, she could barely see anything. "P-please, someone help me..." She sniffled, and walked up to a foggy forest filled with dead trees, the blonde was still crying, her hands were shaking and her feathers were shut tight as her wings quivered around her small body.

Peridot stumbled across an old shed, its window broken with an old sheet spread across it to block out wind. The roof had cracks in it... And there was faint noises inside. Did someone live here?

She stepped inside, it was too dark to see anything, but there was the noise of people snoring. More than one person, a group, lived in this little shed. Peridot stepped around and let out a squeak upon bumping into someone. She turned at the moment the moon came out from behind the clouds, and could see through the cracks in the ceiling who this person looked like.

Messy blue hair, smaller wings than hers, taller than her, tanned skin and a furious glare in her dark blue eyes. Clothes ripped, wings spread and feathers bristling with anger. She looked ready to kill.

"Who. Are. You?"


	3. Chapter 3

AN: I like the headcanon of the human Zircon's names being Belle and Yana. Remember, you can ask any character anything you want by going to the story blog for this world, birds-of-a-feather-winged-gems. Just search it on Tumblr!

"I said..." The taller woman growled. "Who are you?"

Peridot quivered where she stood, her wings tight to her body, every instinct within her was screaming for her to fly, but this girl would probably catch her and kill her... "M-m-my name is... P-Peridot." She murmured in fear.

The girl didn't show any signs of being placated, "Do you know anyone named... Jasper?" She asked, her blue eyes piercing as if they were trying to burn holes into the blonde's soul.

"No, I-I don't." Peridot answered, the woman lit a single match and used it to light up a single lantern, Peridot could see not only her lean muscles, but also the scars on her. One on her chin, a few on her arms and legs too, this girl had obviously been in fights, and by the looks of it, had won.

"Wake up!" She called to the other people in the shed, and one by one they all got up as quickly as they could.

The one the blonde noticed first was about her height with fluffy ginger hair, and speckled pale orange/brown wings, her clothes were tattered just like the rest of them. The second must have been her twin, with long pale blue hair and bangs that threatened to cover her eyes, there was a jagged scar over one of her eyes and though her face seemed calm her feathers bristled. Next was a tall woman with pale blue eyes, and what would be pure white wings if it wasn't for the faded splotches of paint in them, her peach coloured hair was messy and her nose was pointy, she glared down at Peridot. Beside her was a girl that was only a little shorter, with soft blue hair that covered her eyes completely, her blue and white wings were kept close, and the blonde had a bad feeling that her covered eyes were sending a poisonously hateful look.

The last one was shorter than Peridot, with teal hair that held a tattered and stitched up bow, her dark blue wings puffed out as she bared her teeth, her hands clenched into fists. The blonde felt as though she could breath in a way these women didn't like and they'd tear her to shreds.

"Lapis, what do we do with her? She's obviously an intruder." The girl with the scar over her eye stated.

Lapis? So that was her name. She must have been the leader of these thuggish looking people. "She's not with Jasper, so she's no thief." Lapis said quietly, but that didn't calm the others. Though within seconds the shortest girl had a smirk that made the blonde's stomach turn.

"Of COURSE she's no thief! Look at her clothes!" She had a strange accent, but her voice was as scathing as Emerald's. Peridot's heart twisted with pain at the thought of her mother. "She's not just new here, she's an Upper class!" The short woman crowed and laughed. "What's the matter? Not used to seeing poor people? Or are you just upset that your breakfast isn't going to be a 3 course meal on a silver platter anymore?!" She burst into a fit of giggles until Lapis cuffed her on the back of the head.

"Shut up Aquamarine, I wouldn't be laughing if I were you." Lapis growled, the short girl shut her mouth but rolled her eyes. "Everyone get to sleep. We've got work in the morning." She turned to Peridot. "You... If you want to stay with us, you have to pull your own weight. This isn't like your home, we work for every scrap we get. I'll be watching you tonight to make sure you don't try anything."

The blonde nodded, Lapis pointed to a corner of thee tiny shed. "You can sleep right over there. Get sleep because we'll be waking up at dawn."

Peridot curled up in the corner as tightly as she could, wings wrapping around her little body. She looked up at the blue haired girl as the others settled down to go back to sleep. Lapis pushed a small sheet of metal over the entrance to the shed, leaving them in pitch black. The blonde resisted the urge to cry. She'd never been so scared in her life, all she wanted now was her big brother, or their nest maid... She hoped Holly was okay.

POV SHIFT- Holly Blue

Why? Why had she done that? Not only had she mouthed off to Emerald at the party, but the second they had opened her cage on this hellish island she had flown in another direction without even bothering to find Peridot... The poor thing must have been so scared, she had never been in this kind of place before. She and her brother had been born in the manor, raised in it, taught in it, lived in it. They rarely left, they had no reason to leave the paradise their mother had created for them, they had anything and everything they could ever want.

She shivered as she slowly tiptoed through the island, Holly wouldn't dare call out to the young girl no matter how much she wanted to. Her wings wrapped tightly around her arms, and her heart gave a squeeze as she thought of the poor blonde and what could happen to her. Holly couldn't help having a protective instinct towards her, she'd literally known Peridot since she'd been born.

It had been winter, deep in a snowstorm that was freezing over the Upper-class Island in a deep chill. Holly had been simply working on getting the nursery ready. Emerald's husband was out helping to clear snow, the green haired lady so close to laying her egg, or at least... They thought it was one.

When the time had come so suddenly, it had turned out that Emerald hadn't been carrying a single egg, but two. Two beautiful eggs that had left their mother weak after having them. The first one, much larger than the other and even laid first, hatched quickly. A little girl (oh how wrong Holly had been), blonde hair like her father with a poor eye like her mother. Eyes bright green with pale skin and featherless wings as she screeched at the world, Holly cleaning the egg's slime off of her, wrapping her up and handing her to her mother.

Emerald was still crying, but now she had a large smile on her face. "Hi baby..." She whispered to the infant, who had settled down in her blanket. A name had been selected for her, in an old language it meant 'Success'. "Hi Squaridot... I'm your mama..."

10 minutes went by, then 30, then 50... And the little egg hadn't hatched. Holly stood in the kitchen, holding the egg close and lightly rocking it. She wanted this egg to hatch so badly, Emerald deserved another baby... But if an egg stayed dormant for too long it would die within the egg. Babies needed their mothers for warmth and food, hence why Squaridot needed her mother as soon as she'd been cleaned up. You needed feathers to hold in your body heat, if your wings were bare you had no way of being warm enough to survive for very long.

Holly held the egg a little tighter. Her pale blue eyes widened when she felt a small tap on the bottom of it. The other baby, this unexpected hatchling, was still alive, and needed help. You really weren't supposed to... But she didn't care. Holly tapped the bottom of the egg, and grinned upon feeling it move with the little kicks getting faster and harder. "That's it." Holly murmured. "You've got it, it's okay."

A small crack appeared in the lower part of the egg, not quite the bottom but close. Her breath hitched as a small bit of liquid dripped out, she placed the egg on a thick towel and took a deep breath. The egg was indeed hatching, but not fast enough. The budgie-winged woman grabbed a spoon out of the drawer and tapped the crack, widening it before prying 2 fingers in to snap off a tiny part of the shell.

Her heart fell upon seeing a tiny, pale, slime covered foot. Breach... Wonderful. It would be harder for the baby to hatch, but not impossible. After a particularly hard kick the little feet burst right through, a large hole formed in the shell followed by a muffled cry.

Holly turned the egg over and a small baby slid out into her hands, slick with the slime from... Her egg. Another little girl! Pale and green eyed like her sister, blonde too. Although both her eyes were clear, and there was one major difference... Her wings were bare like any other baby...

But they were massive.

The new baby screamed and squirmed as she cried. Holly wrapped her in the other little blanket her egg had been in and held her close. Emerald was weak, and was already busy taking care of the first child. The tall woman reached into the fridge, pulled out a small bottle of formula and letting the newborn eat.

Later on, the sweet little baby had been named Peridot.

Peridot had proven to be a somewhat sickly child, catching a cold every winter no matter what they did. She was always smaller than Squaridot, paler too, and so attached to both Holly AND Emerald. The twins' father had passed away in their youth, both of them too young to remember him, but they never cared. As far as they were concerned they already had what they wanted.

Even if that meant driving Holly INSANE. They would constantly ask her for things, follow her around and beat their wings causing a rucks, not to mention their feathers getting everywhere.

One winter, when the twins where around 14 years old, Peridot had become quite ill. The poor little thing could hardly sleep, her breathing was wheezy and she nearly refused to eat anything. She cried and cried, reaching out to both Emerald AND Holly. There was a small thought always in the back of of the tall woman's mind: Peridot (and possibly Squaridot) had imprinted on her when she was born, and saw Holly as another mother.

She did love these kids though, these people were all she had. She had once lived with a sister, who had passed away. Mother and father gone, Holly was alone. If these children bothered her sometimes, it was more than forgiven. That night, Holly had stayed up the whole time, making sure Peridot could drink, breathe easily, and fall asleep. She kept the young girl's temperature down, keeping her calm.

Now, on this awful island, she had abandoned her to whoever else was here. Tears welled up in her bright blue eyes, how could she do that to someone so innocent? Peridot didn't deserve this, she wasn't a fighter, she'd never hurt a soul...

"She must be so scared..." Holly whispered, her wings drooping down. She looked up to the stars, and gave a small prayer as she walked through the ghost-town. "Please, Peridot, wherever you are, stay safe, I'll find you... I promise."

TIME CHANGE

POV SHIFT- Yana Zircon

"Come on Belle! We don't have much time!" The blonde called as she and her wife ran down the hall. Her wings, bright yellow with specks of brown, opened, feeling almost no wind under them, she needed to get out of here and into the sky, maybe get onto a boat and head down to Belle's island of birth. The police would never follow them there.

There were so many Islands in their world, they just needed to get off of this one, they needed to get away from White and her guards. The two of them had good jobs, they were smart, had everything they needed too... So why did they have to get so damned curious?!

Yana had been with her wife, looking through old files, doing research on the many 'bird types' as they were known. All they wanted was a little more information on clients, Yana's bird type a Golden Weaver and Belle's bird type a Black-Throated Blue Warbler, which none of her parents were.

It wasn't unheard of for parents to give birth to child of a different 'species'. Yana had been the same as her mother and father, but Belle had been so different. She had left home young, shunned by her peers, leaving what was known as The Island That Honoured The Past. It looked ancient, rarely using any technology, old style architecture too. Nests that they made instead of houses that according to Belle were so comfortable... They honoured the time before White Diamond.

Now she and her wife were on the run. While doing research they had found some rather odd information about their Leader, White Diamond, and her former co-rulers. Azura and Yella. Rumour had it they had gone insane from the pressure of their jobs, and had thrown themselves into the sea together. But as the file they had found said, this was not the case.

The two had been found first though, and now had to run through White's facility in a desperate escape attempt. Yana flapped her wings once she got outside, Belle joining her as they soared into the air. "Come on Yana!" Belle called out to her, wings pumping rapidly as the two fought to get away, hearing the strong wingbeats of the Eagle winged people behind them. "The boat, get to the boat! Hurry!"

Yana nodded, and followed the blue haired woman.

OR at least, she tried to... The guards caught up quickly with them, slamming into Belle before taking the blonde down. She fought back, screaming and hitting the woman who'd grabbed her.

A hard smack cuffed her over the head, and her vision blurred, Yana went limp in the guard's arms, and the world faded to black.


End file.
